At the end of 2025, President Trump told everyone how cute Kei cars in Japan are and how his administration was clearing the way for them to come here. In what might be a surprising plot twist, a Kei truck is about to come to the United States as Toyota resurrects a brand. But as with anything, the details matter, and enthusiasts need to temper their excitement for now.
On Tuesday, Toyota announced Scion is back, and with it will come a U.S.-built Kei truck. However, it will only be sold to fleets in limited volumes for an undisclosed price when it arrives in the second half of 2027, and it will be limited to 25 mph.
The Kei truck—called the KEI-01—will be built in Indiana, sold only through Toyota’s fleet services division to fleet operators as a low-volume niche vehicle, and aimed at those looking for a miniature workhorse. Toyota is pitching it to ranchers as well as small business owners and operators where space and efficiency are at a premium. The automaker said it might consider expanding availability to limited retail sales at a later date depending on consumer demand, market conditions, and operational considerations. That’s not a no, but it’s far from a yes.
The KEI-01 is powered by a 660cc three-cylinder engine mated to a continuously variable transmission and four-wheel drive system.
As you may have noticed in the photos, the KEI-01 is right-hand-drive. That’s not because this is a Japanese-spec vehicle. I mean, it is, but that is also how Toyota will build it in Indiana and sell it here in the U.S. And to get around those pesky crash regulations, Toyota noted the KEI-01 is designed to comply with FMVSS No. 500, which are the low-speed vehicle federal safety requirements. Hence the 25 mph top speed.
The KEI-01 retains its three-way fold-down cargo bed with a low lift-over height. The only configuration will be a two-door cab with a raised roofline. Heat and air conditioning will be standard.
The entire truck is just over 11 feet long and less than 5 feet wide. Payload capacity will max out at 600 pounds.
A decade after killing Scion, which was set to be Toyota’s youthful and hip brand, the world’s largest automaker is reviving the moniker as a Freedom Lab to test new ideas in the mobility space. We are talking mobility on- and off-pavement. The KEI-01 will be sold through Scion by Toyota dealers selected from current dealers.
Scion’s return, and the Freedom Lab division that is behind all this within Toyota, was teased last year with the UTV’s debut. The off-road machine dropped at the 2025 SEMA show and featured long-travel suspension, along with a turbo 2.4-liter hybrid powertrain out of the Tacoma TRD Pro. Toyota still seems to be strongly considering UTV production, and with Scion’s formal reintroduction, it appears even more likely than before.
Alongside the KEI-01 and Scion UTV concept, Toyota showed another experiment called the BKE concept. The electric two-wheeler is a collapsible bike aimed at making short-distance mobility easier. The bike folds in 30 seconds and is small enough to fit into the trunk of the Toyota GR 86. No meaningful specs were released about the bike aside from how quickly it folds and that it can be recharged off the 110-volt outlet in a Toyota on the go.
Whether the BKE or UTV enters production is yet to be seen, but the KEI-01 is the first step in the revival of Scion as a mobility sub-division for Toyota. It’s unlikely to be the last.
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